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National Review
A Less Perfect Union
Charlie Kirk’s tragic murder has had ramifications across America, but one of its strangest consequences has been to bring a venerable British institution to the brink…
Study
Freedom, Broadcasting, and the Public Interest
Introduction The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is invoking the public interest to justify regulatory moves that would, in theory, force television and radio station broadcast…
The Daily Economy
Digital ID and the Return of Big Brother Britain
Fresh out of university and looking for a career in public policy, I interviewed for a job in the Conservative Research Department of the British…
Search Posts
National Review
A Less Perfect Union
Charlie Kirk’s tragic murder has had ramifications across America, but one of its strangest consequences has been to bring a venerable British institution to the brink…
Study
Freedom, Broadcasting, and the Public Interest
Introduction The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is invoking the public interest to justify regulatory moves that would, in theory, force television and radio station broadcast…
The Daily Economy
Digital ID and the Return of Big Brother Britain
Fresh out of university and looking for a career in public policy, I interviewed for a job in the Conservative Research Department of the British…
News Release
Interest rates cut again, Fed to stop shrinking balance sheet in December: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut of 25 basis points, in line with economists’ predictions. CEI senior economist Ryan Young…
News Release
Frack to the Future with North Dakota’s permitting success
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report highlighting North Dakota’s user-friendly environmental permitting laws. “North Dakota has always been rich with…
Study
Frack to the Future
Introduction North Dakota is typically known for the Badlands, agriculture, Fargo (thanks, Coen brothers), cold weather, and its flat landscape. Yet, due to technological advancements…
Fox Business
Federal Reserve faces dilemma amid expected rate cut decision
FOX Business cited CEI’s expert on inflation data The latest inflation data from September released on Friday showed that the consumer price index…
Forbes
Washington’s Hidden Rulebook: The 2025 Darklore Depository And The Case For Guidance Document Reform
Agencies also say “BOO” with guidance documents, statements of policy, memoranda, notices, bulletins, advisory opinions, directives, news releases, letters and even blog posts. We call…
Washington Examiner
No excuse for price floors in rare earths dispute
Parents don’t tolerate “But they do it, too” as an excuse from their children. What about when adults in positions of power use it? That…
Blog
Rare earths and China: Choose deregulation, not price controls
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to implement price controls on unspecified goods if China continues to restrict rare earth mineral exports. Over at the…
News Release
Inflation increased 0.3 percent in September, higher prices still sticking around: CEI analysis
September saw an inflation increase of 0.3 percent across all sectors, in line with economists’ predictions. CEI senior economist Ryan Young says today’s…
Forbes
$1 Trillion And Counting: Do Federal Grants Sabotage Regulatory Reform?
There’s been much attention to Donald Trump’s streamlining and “deconstruction” of conventional notice-and-comment regulation this year – a campaign that includes…
Blog
In absence of federal action, states begin challenging the proxy duopoly
The two largest proxy advisors, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), have dominated the proxy voting market for the past 22 years. Following the…
Comment
Comments urging withdrawal of Chopra CFPB open banking mandate
Dear Acting Director Vought: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on RIN 3170-AB39, CFPB’s reconsideration of issues…
Comment
CEI Comments on the FTC’s Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2026–2030: Supporting Balanced Enforcement, Evidence-Based Policymaking, and Regulatory Predictability
RE: Draft FTC Strategic Plan for FY 2026-2030 Docket No.: FTC-2025-0660 On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I would like to thank the…
The Daily Signal
Is a Leftist-Created Corner of the Bureaucracy Defying the Government Shutdown?
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on the CFPB Despite limits, with Vought at the helm, the CFPB has been headed in a more positive…
Forbes
Small Business Regulation Is Cratering – Here’s The Hidden Catch
But during the Biden administration, red tape proliferated. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council noted, for example, the toll from credit card…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR in Urging Commerce to Reject Patent Tax Proposal Undermining OBBBA Success
Dear Secretary Lutnick: The undersigned organizations represent millions of Americans for whom efforts alongside the Trump administration on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)…
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Single-Use Plastic Bans Make No Sense
Nobody wants plastic pollution. That doesn’t mean poorly considered and heavy-handed governmental actions are the solution. This includes misguided single-use plastic bans (e.g., bans on…
The American Spectator
Trump Topples the Regulatory Tower
The American Spectator cited CEI’s 10kc The federal government collected $4.9 trillion in taxes in 2024. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, founded by the late Fred Smith, calculates that in 2025…
National Review
Time to Spring Trump’s Tariff Trap
H.L. Mencken, the Sage of Baltimore, grounded American democracy in the notion that the “common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and…
Trib Live
‘We’re stretching’: As grocery prices continue to climb, shoppers redefine their staples
Trib Live cited CEI’s expert on Tariffs “Tomatoes from Mexico are being hit with a 17% tariff,” Ortega said. “In the cold months, we’ll…
Forbes
Turn Shutdown Theater Into A Slim-Down: Cut Spending And Regulation At Once
Looming federal government shutdowns should be treated as opportunities to cut both spending and regulation. So as we barrel toward a potential…
News Release
Trump’s views on Tylenol shouldn’t supersede doctor advice
President Trump railed against Tylenol (acetaminophen) in a press conference this week, imploring, in particular, pregnant women and babies to not take (or be administered)…
The Hill
The Movement: Erika Kirk, Trump showcase clashing messages about conservativism’s soul
The Hill cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner The regulatory-reform-focused Competitive Enterprise Institute’s president, Kent Lassman, made a pointed joke about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at its swanky annual…
News Release
Affordable transportation should be celebrated over “World Car-Free Day”
September 22 is associated with “World Car-Free Day”, an occasion aimed at prodding people to find alternative ways to travel around that day. CEI Senior…
Citation
Playbook PM: The shutdown countdown begins
Politico cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner. The Competitive Enterprise Institute hosted its annual Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner at the Organization of…
The Daily Economy
Why the Old Left–Right Divide No Longer Works
A century ago, Michael Oakeshott, Britain’s great skeptic of politics, a grand project, diagnosed a sickness that now afflicts every Western democracy: the confusion between…
News Release
Fed independence is the real story in Wednesday’s interest rate decision: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced it is cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, the first cut in nine months. CEI senior economist…
The Washington Post
The wine industry doesn’t work the way Washington thinks it does
Owning a vineyard in Napa Valley sounds fancy, but the wine business is, in reality, pretty gritty: It is a low-margin agricultural and food-processing business…
Comment
CEI is in Support of the GOOD Act: Bringing Federal Guidance Out of the Shadows
Dear Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, We write to you today ahead of markup of the Guidance Out of…
News Release
Trump’s call to end corporate quarterly reporting mandates would boost competitiveness, end onerous regulation
President Trump today used a social media post to call on the SEC to end quarterly reporting mandates for publicly traded companies and instead move…
Comment
CEI’S Request for Federal Intervention on State Climate Disclosure Laws That Adversely Affect Interstate Commerce and Violate Constitutional Limits
Request for Information on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Significant Adverse Effects on Interstate Commerce Dear Mr. Schilling, Thank…
News Release
Inflation increased 0.4 percent in August, all eyes on the Fed’s next move: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for August showed a 0.4 percent increase in inflation across all sectors. With Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs being implemented…
Letters
CEI partners with AFP & Urges Congress to Modernize Labor Laws with Pro-Worker Employee Rights Act
Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of the following organizations, we ask for your full support and co-sponsorship of H.R. 4154, the Employee Rights Act…
Blog
Trump’s Intel stake and the Peronist precedent of Obama’s auto bailouts
President Trump’s decision to take a 10-percent ownership stake in chipmaker Intel has been described by many commentators as “socialism.” Others have…
Blog
Putting an end to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The immortality of federal programs no longer seems to be a certainty. A particularly welcome instance of a federal program drawing to a close is…
Testimony
CEI’s Ben Lieberman testifies on Reforming Appliance Efficiency Standards: Restoring Consumer Choice and Ending Regulatory Overreach
I. Summary The Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency standards program is decades old, and most major home appliances have been subjected to multiple rounds of…
News Release
Report urges ending the unauthorized Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report supporting the dismantling of a legally dubious office within the U.S. Department of Labor: the Office of…
Study
‘Contradictory to Our Country’s Laws’
Introduction In the first days of the second Trump administration, elusive aspirations of confining agencies of the federal government to their legitimate functions suddenly seemed…
Comment
CEI’s comment on FLRA’s Proposed AFCA Regulations: Constitutional Concerns and the Right to a Jury Trial
Dear Mr. Tso: The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has proposed procedural regulations for the Administrative False Claims Act (AFCA). Implementation of the Administrative False…
Forbes
Diary Of Deconstruction: Trump Releases Unified Agenda Of Federal Regulations
As the leaves begin to fall, the Trump administration has at last released Spring 2025 edition of the semiannual “Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and…
Politico
How AI could fuel a boom in carbon capture
Politico cited CEI’s expert on temporary regulations “Many of the ‘rules’ that have been issued under Trump aren’t new mandates at all, but rather rescissions,…
Comment
CEI’s comment on Proposed Revisions to Section 503 Regulations and Enforcement Procedures to Align with APA and Executive Order 14173
Re: Comment on Modifications to the Regulations Implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended Docket OFCCP-2025-0003 Dear Director Eschbach: On behalf…
Comment
CEI’s comment on Proposed Reforms to VEVRAA Regulations and Enforcement Procedures in Light of Constitutional and Administrative Law Concerns
Re: Comment on Modifications to the Regulations Implementing the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as Amended Docket OFCCP-2025-0002 Dear Director Eschbach:…
Comment
CEI’s comment in Support of Rescission of EO 11246 Regulations and Reduction of OFCCP Authority
Re: Comment on Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations Docket OFCCP-2025-0001 Dear Director Eschbach: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I respectfully submit…
News Release
Google Ruling Rightly Rejects Most DOJ Demands, But Appeals Still Warranted
A federal court largely rejected DOJ efforts to break up Google, declining to spin off its Chrome browser or impose sweeping payment bans. But the…
News Release
Federal court strikes down President Trump’s emergency tariffs: CEI analysis
On Friday, a federal court struck down President Trump’s emergency rationale for enacting worldwide tariffs. CEI senior economist Ryan Young applauds the court’s decision.
News Release
Trump pocket rescission move helps eliminate needless spending
The White House announced today that President Trump has moved to rescind $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding. The President is using what’s known as…
Blog
Washington just bought Intel—and sold capitalism
Back in 2010, I testified before Congress against reauthorizing the so-called America COMPETES Act. That legislation was the precursor to the much-ballyhooed CHIPS and…
Blog
DC Circuit Court shields proxy advisor duopoly
In an unfortunate move, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2020 Proxy Advisor Rule. The…
News Release
Supreme Court ruling on social media age verification isn’t the final word: CEI analysis
The Supreme Court today in an emergency ruling declined to block Mississippi from enforcing an age-verification law imposed on nine social media platforms. The trade group…
News Release
Latest Producer Price Index numbers show a 0.9 percent increase, tariffs to blame: CEI analysis
July’s Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers show a 0.9 percent increase in final demand prices, up 3.3 percent over the past 12 months. CEI…
The Daily Economy
The Founders Would Be Appalled by Trump’s Tariff Policy—Even Hamilton
President Trump has, it is clear, upended the global trading system and America’s place in it through his aggressive use of tariffs as a tool…
The Daily Economy
The Founders Would Be Appalled by Trump’s Tariff Policy—Even Hamilton
President Trump has, it is clear, upended the global trading system and America’s place in it through his aggressive use of tariffs as a tool…
The Washington Examiner
Biggest immediate change for Fed under new chair likely to be tone shift
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on inflation Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, pointed out that the new chair would…
The Washington Free Beacon
Mainstream Media Reports Cite ‘Nonpartisan’ Research Firm to Trash Trump’s Repeal of Green Energy Subsidies. Its Leader Helped Biden Write Those Subsidies Into Law.
In other words, Energy Innovation didn’t properly analyze the impacts greater wind and solar reliance have on consumers, Stein told the Washington Free Beacon. “They make…
American Greatness
Chester Arthur was a Champion of Government Accountability, not the Architect of the Deep State
Was America’s 21st president responsible for spawning a perpetual class of unaccountable power-wielding bureaucrats? In an article for American Greatness, Thaddeus McCotter…
Blog
Trump’s economy off to a slow start
Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its estimates of the performance of the US economy in the second quarter. The headline result…
Letters
CEI Joins AEA in Request to Align IRS Clean Energy Guidance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Sunset of Wind and Solar Subsidies
Re: Request for Revision of IRS Notices related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Dear Secretary Bessent, We respectfully request that the Internal Revenue…
Forbes
Rise Of The Unrule: Fewer Rules, Fewer Agencies, And No Apocalypse
There was Hollywood’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. Now meet Washington’s Year the Regulation Stopped. The end of July 2025 finds just 1,490 finalized regulations published…
DC Journal
Point: Medicaid Work Requirements Are a Common-Sense Reform
Medicaid is the government program that is supposed to help the poor afford health care. Its cost to taxpayers has skyrocketed in the last few…
News Release
GDP grew by three percent in the second quarter of 2025: CEI analysis
The GDP grew by three percent in the second quarter of 2025, marking a return to growth after first quarter shrinkage. CEI senior economist…
State Policy Network
Week in Review: July 25, 2025
Sate Policy Network cited CEI on ESG policies The Competitive Enterprise Institute reported that some asset managers are leaving ESG-focused investing behind, aligning instead with taxpayers and…
Marketplace
Where will Japan’s $550 billion investment in the U.S. go?
MarketPlace cited CEI’s expert on Tariffs For Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, this deal — where the president allegedly directs…
NPR
Trump’s EPA now says greenhouse gases don’t endanger people
NPR cited CEI’s expert on the EPA “Since the 2009 endangerment finding, the EPA has been trying to regulate greenhouse gases and as a…
News Release
CEI experts react to White House AI Action Plan
Today, the White House released “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan”, a multi-faceted policy document intended to help the United States keep its…
News Release
President Trump announces 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods: CEI analysis
Last night, President Trump announced a trade deal with Japan that included a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods, including cars, entering the US. CEI…
National Review
Sesame Street Will Still Be Open
The beloved children’s show Sesame Street has for decades been portrayed by fans of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as the first thing that will be gutted if the…
Blog
Predicting a brighter regulatory future for prediction markets
CEI scholars have many skills, but predicting the future is not one of them. However, when it comes to prediction markets, based on recent events,…
Blog
ESG refugees: Ally with taxpayers
Yesterday the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my new study with John Mozena, “Corporate Social Irresponsibility: After ESG, activist investors should side with…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR: Applauding U.S. Action on DST, Calling for Tougher EU Trade Terms
Dear President Trump, Thank you for protecting American innovators from abuse by the Canadian government through their Digital Services Tax (DST). We also applaud your…
The Hill
5 things to know about the latest inflation report
The Hill cited CEI’s expert on Trumps tariffs and inflation Additionally, many of Trump’s tariffs apply to component parts rather than finished consumer goods. The…
The Daily Economy
New York’s Socialist Temptation: Young People’s Idealism Ignores Economics
Socialism,” said the British free speech campaigner Lord Young, “Always begins with a universal vision for the brotherhood of man and ends with people having to…
Letters
CEI letter to EPA regarding Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act
Dear Administrator Zeldin: The Competitive Enterprise Institute applauds the Trump administration’s efforts to streamline the federal permitting process for major projects, including those for energy,…
News Release
Inflation increased in June, tariff troubles likely cause: CEI analysis
Inflation rose 0.3 percent across all sectors in June, marking the beginning of Trump’s tariffs’ effect on prices. CEI senior economist Ryan Young…
Forbes
The Dreck Equation: A Drake Equation For Mapping The Hidden Universe Of Federal Regulation
Joe Biden’s 2024 regulatory big bang—106,109 Federal Register pages—shattered cosmic records. But the 3,000 notice-and-comment rules chronicled there every year and archived in…
News Release
Report advocates responsible investment, rejects crony subsidies
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report on the importance of reinstating responsible investment practices by rejecting corporate welfare strategies and…
Study
Corporate Social Irresponsibility
Executive summary State and municipal governments across America are engaged in a massive transfer of public resources to private corporate interests in the name of…
Blog
Big business is a myth
Many policy discussions, from antitrust to telecom policy, focus on how large businesses should be. Almost no one asks the big questions. Why are businesses…
Letters
CEI Joins American Consumer Institute in Support for the Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act: A Step Toward Lower Costs and Greater Access
Dear Chairman Cassidy, Chairman Guthrie, Ranking Member Pallone, Ranking Member Sanders: We, the undersigned consumer, free-market, and taxpayer organizations, write to thank you for urging…
Blog
Declaration of Independence: Ringbolt of America’s freedom
Frederick Douglass called the Declaration of Independence the ringbolt to the chain of our national destiny. He argued that its principles are our saving principles.
News Release
June added 147,000 jobs to economy, increase in discouraged workers: CEI analysis
The jobs report for June showed an increase of 147,000 jobs in the economy, exceeding economists’ expectations. An increase in discouraged workers and a…
Forbes
Trump’s Deregulation Score: Mid-Year Federal Rules Tally Is The Lowest Ever Recorded
After years of relentless compounding of federal rules and regulations and Federal Register pages–capped by Joe Biden’s self-proclaimed “whole-of-government” executive actions on the likes of DEI, ESG,…
Blog
New York City breadlines
Zohran Mamdani, a candidate for New York City’s mayoral Democratic primary, proposes to address the city’s housing and affordability crisis through rent control (rent freezes…
Blog
Trump’s ‘Golden Share’ breaches government’s proper role
On June 13, President Trump issued an executive order declaring that the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel…
Daily Calller
Social Security Now Headed For Insolvency Even Sooner Than Expected
Daily Caller cited CEI’s experts on Social Security spending Congress can’t keep dodging entitlement reform. Social Security’s $28 trillion in unfunded liabilities is about the…
News Release
CEI announces James Otteson as Simon awardee and Hernando de Soto as keynote speaker at this year’s Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is pleased to announce that American philosopher and political economist James Otteson will accept this year’s Julian L. Simon…
News Release
CEI documentary wins “Best Documentary Feature” award at Anthem Film Festival
Last week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) screened its new documentary, Dear Mr. President: The Letters of Julia Sand, at FreedomFest’s Anthem Film…
News Release
Consumer sentiment rebounds in first reading for June: CEI analysis
University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report showed a rebound in its first reading for June, likely due to slower-growing inflation and a calmer-than-expected month…
Letters
CEI joins Advancing American Freedom calling on Congress to reassert its control over the the Unconstitutional Tariffs.
Dear Member of Congress: Your constituents are hurting because of President Trump’s tariffs. That harm will only worsen as the economic losses and price increases…
The Daily Economy
The Resurgence of Do It Yourself Economics
To listen to some people, you’d think that America had been run by economists — and specifically free-market economists — for the last fifty years…
News Release
Inflation increased 0.1 percent in May, less severe than previous months: CEI analysis
Today, the Consumer Price Index report for May showed inflation increased across all sectors by 0.1 percent, compared to 0.2 percent in April. CEI…
Blog
Trump’s newborn nest egg accounts
In the face of recurring economic shocks—we’ve suffered 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19 in the 21st century alone—the reflex to throw hundreds of…
Blog
The broken window fallacy: America doesn’t know what it pays for
If a kid breaks a shopkeeper’s window and a glazier fixes it, is the economy better off? It has created work for the glazier, so…
Blog
Chapter and verse: The case against mandatory ESG standards
This week De Gruyter Brill published the book ESG Investing: Current Theory and Practice, edited by John Hill of Fairfield University’s Dolan School…
News Release
Economy adds 139,000 jobs in May, labor market growth slows: CEI analysis
May added 139,000 jobs to the economy, with the unemployment rate staying unchanged at 4.2 percent. Trump’s policies, namely his mission to shrink the…
WSJ Opinion
A Day of Defiance—and Donuts
It’s time to double down on National Donut Day. As Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. begins pushing his Make America Healthy Again…
News Release
Coalition urges Commodity Futures Trading Commission cut red tape on prediction markets
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today sent a coalition letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) urging it to adopt a policy of permissionless innovation…
Letters
CEI leads a Coalition Letter to End CFTC Red Tape Prediction Markets
Dear Acting Chair Pham and Commissioner Johnson: As leaders of conservative and free-market groups, we believe that government should not stand in the way of…
